BidaskClub Upgrades Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) to “Hold”

BidaskClub upgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WABC. Sandler O’Neill restated a sell rating and set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Maxim Group restated a hold rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a hold rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a report on Friday, December 22nd.

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Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) traded up $2.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.52. The company had a trading volume of 191,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,352. The firm has a market cap of $1,647.15, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.91 and a beta of 1.07. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $49.38 and a 12-month high of $64.26.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.57. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 26.26%. The company had revenue of $45.22 million for the quarter.

In other news, VP James J. Schneck sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.86, for a total value of $353,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $354,631.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dennis R. Hansen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.13, for a total value of $1,162,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,146,381.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,868 shares of company stock worth $3,340,734 over the last 90 days. 4.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,213,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $180,071,000 after acquiring an additional 20,775 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,629,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,362,000 after acquiring an additional 78,257 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,243,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,600,000 after acquiring an additional 258,580 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 571,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,028,000 after acquiring an additional 77,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 544,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,429,000 after acquiring an additional 83,601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.95% of the company’s stock.

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Westamerica Bancorporation Company Profile

Westamerica Bancorporation is a bank holding company. The Company provides a range of banking services to individual and corporate customers in Northern and Central California through its subsidiary bank, Westamerica Bank. The communities served are located in Northern and Central California, from Mendocino, Lake and Nevada Counties in the north to Kern County in the south.